Intel seeking Google’s Android OS for future MIDs

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It’s reported today on DigiTimes that Intel is in talks with Google to utilize its Android-based operating system on future Moorestown- or generic Atom-powered MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices).

Intel reportedly commented that their goals are to create a platform and ecosystem to support all operating systems in all types of devices. These Intel-powered devices from the low-end to the high-end would benefit not only the end-users, but also the industry and vendors.

This is arguably Intel’s third recent, public effort to directly support a Linux-powered operating system running on their hardware (and not just by creating drivers). The first comes from their long effort with Moblin for low-end netbooks and other such portable devices with a powerful GUI interface.

The second comes from a recent announcement following the revelation that Nokia signed Intel for their future devices (thereby bypassing ARM). And this one with Google’s Android OS today would be the third.

In support of that endeavor for small form factor handhelds, Nokia has chosen to continue pursuing its Maemo operating system (a Debian Linux off-shoot) by announcing they will use Qt as the foundational GUI toolkit two generations out (see Geek.com’s coverage).

Intel is making enormous strides toward the low-end parts as they clearly see that as their long-term future, as the lower-end parts will become more and more powerful, especially when multiple chips are running side-by-side in a system.

The only question now is whether or not Intel can make it down into that lower-powered segment before ARM climbs up from its lower-performance segment into the dominant position, simply by extending their chip’s performance (something already in the works with dual- and quad-core ARM chips coming).

In recent months, Intel has been making it very clear that the future they see is not limited by a personal relationship with Microsoft as it has been in the past, the so-called “Wintel monopoly”.

Intel is choosing a path toward the lower-end, and that means lower-performing silicon in terms of raw x86-based throughput, but at the same time these devices will consume far less power than current and previous generation chips, making them suitable for use in many more types of devices.

Another notable reality is how many vendors are migrating away from Windows Mobile-based operating systems, and into the world of Linux. Linux is a smaller footprint, easier to port to multiple platforms, and with the large developer base (Maemo alone, for example, already has 16,000 registered developers with over 700 active projects) there is a tremendous continued support in favor of new technologies, new standards and fast bug-fixing turnarounds.